Happy New Year

As we get ready to ring the new year, I'm reminded what a blessed life we are living. Sure, we have our share of hicups along the way. But what a ride it has been.  2014 has been no different.  A year that saw many new highs for the little guy

1. The start of pre school. (Ladies, the boy has brains)
2. A size 13 shoe for a 4 year old. (Oh my)
3. A boy that now styles his own hair (the key is lots of gel, mommy)
4. The discovery of Star Wars (yes ladies, the boy likes the Dark Side)
5. The ability to open the fridge and grab whatever he likes (a fridge that locks, perfect!)
6. His love of his Korean tutor and learning the Korean language. (Counts to 30)
7. Books, books, everywhere (this week he read his first book on his own)
8. Karate and soccer, ladies the boy is starting to show some mad skills
9. Saw his first OSU basketball game (and yes, he ate through most of it)
10. Visited the beautiful Longwoods Gardens to see the light show. (Discovered my umbrella)
11 Made his first trip with the grandparents (Great Grandmom relayed that the boy likes to talk, uh hu
12 Figured out the IPad (Ladies, the boy knows his way around his apps)

Yes, the little guy has had quiet the year. And through it all, he did it with an amazing family and three "tolerating" dogs.

Happy New Year Everyone...full steam ahead 2015

Merry Christmas

We had a rather low key Christmas.  That nasty cold we had a few weeks ago got a few family members. So, we basically had dinner just with our immediate family. 

It was still a good day. And someone was super excited with his gifts.  But it's crazy to think Christmas has come and already gone. 

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve with mommy's side of the family.  Nice time with family. Lots of people not there because of sickness (boo sickness). But we marched on.  And celebrated with the newest addition Baby Colette. 

Thank you Uncle Dale and Aunt Margie for the fabulous spread.  The little guy loved that pumpkin roll. And daddy was happy for the turkey. We always love coming out to Shady Lane Drive. 

And someone was super excited about the arrival of Santa....

B Family Christmas

We started off the holiday seasons in style.  Z is in love with his skeeter gun (dogs not so much).  Mommy loves the Christmas ornaments from Great Grandmom. And daddy loves his new Eagles book...although hoping they rewrite history. 

We had a great night out. Enjoyed time with an amazing family. More Aunt Toni cookies---yes, please. 

Week in Rewind: Dec 19

Can Christmas really be right around the corner? 

Crazy, how time flies. Someone is totally into the spirit. Last night, he hummed Deck the Halls as he ate dinner. And on the drive home, we sank a melody of Christmas songs...now mind you, some of the words are just a little off. When I stopped him to say "one horse sleigh"...I got the curious look, followed promptly by "what is a one horse sleigh".  And Deck the Halls is really Fa La La La La La La La...let's be honest, it's the best part of the song. But boy, can he jam out jingle bells...if you're lucky, you get to listen to the Mickey version a thousand times!

There has also. been the confusion with multiple Santa citings.  Can't get anything by the boy. And we really did have to tell him that there are "fake Santas" when we saw two at the same time.  The questions...oh, the questions. 

We also watched Rudolph and Charlie Brown Christmas, which he loved.  But he always sees the world as "is she a bad girl"...Lucy.  Or a good dog...Snoopy.  And of course, he asked about the little blond hair playing the piano..."what's his name mommy". Do you know how hard it is to remember each character???  Btw, the blond kid is Schroder.  But it is pretty cool to rock his world with the same shows we grew up on.

The holiday season would not be complete without a full grooming of the dogs. So off they went last Saturday and came back looking like beautiful princesses....that is until I noticed Bella smelling Trojan's butt. Mattie drooping her beautiful ears in the water bowl...and Trojan rolling over something in the backyard.  Well, at least, I got a couple of good pictures...until they went back to being dogs. 

Finally, the real Santa came through the development on a boat...and yes, he asked "mommy is he fake". 

Week in Rewind: Dec 12

Can you hear what I hear?  That's right, it's that time of year. The most magical time of year--

Last weekend, we headed to Longwood Gardens to see their spectacular light show. Yes, it poured. Yes, someone was not on his best behavior. But we still had a great time with the grandparents. And somehow, I managed two half way decent pictures, considering the little guy's refusal.  This season of merriment will not be derailed!

And now on to Chickie the Elf.  Someone finally "gets it" about being good, especially in front of Chickie. But as Mommy pointed out, Santa has cameras everywhere and sees everything. The boy for the most part has "buy in" but at times we have to go to "don't make me call Santa", phone in hand.  (I really need one of these Elf things for each holiday season)

Then there are the questions when we forget to move Chickie (ok, two times thus far).  And the questions come fast and furious. So far, he seems to be buying the sleeping excuse...because Chickie had a long night.  And don't get me started on the need to be cute with Chickie's placement. Some mom's are totally over the top. We've had him playing with Legos, driving a fire truck and riding the trains. Or when daddy takes charge...he's placed on the curtain rods, swinging upside down....which, of course, the little guy totally loved. Go figure!

So as we make this march toward Christmas...our merriment will not be derailed.

Week in Rewind: Dec 5

This week has been a rough one. All three of us caught a nasty cold. There was much laying around. And multiple Frozen viewings...fun fact, the little guy knows the words to Let It Go and totally (tries) to belt out the high notes. 

The weekend started well enough. Daddy got 1st place overall in the EG Turkey Trot. But someone claimed the trophy...boasting Daddy, I'm much faster than you. 

It's that time of year.  Christmas card picture selection day. Do you know how hard it is to pick just the right collage to represent our year?  So, when all else fails inundate Daddy with a thousand pictures and tell him to get the card ready. Ladies, see how I worked that.

The little guy has grown close to 4 feet tall.  And as we are finding out, loves to eat. I'm not really sure where he puts it..but we do know that he isn't afraid to help himself to the fridge and pantry...which brings us to a really cool fun face: did you know that today's fridges have locks and alarms.  And guess who just ordered one. 

Chickie Has Arrived

Week in Rewind: Nov 26

There's a lot to be thankful for with this family. We celebrated yesterday with good food and family. The little guy is one lucky kid with an amazing family who loves him deeply.  And yes Great Grand mom still makes a rockin gravy. It was a little sad not to have my side of the family here...but we'll see them soon.  Another successful Thanksgiving in the book

And now on action news, the little guy has a cousin to wreak havoc with. They played trains, ran around the house and giggled all over the place. Super cute to watch...not so fun to clean up after. The little guy is still struggling with "you get the toy out...you put it back". But we managed through it and somehow, someway he was able to put them away.....if only it didn't take a act of god to convince him to do it!

Top 10 Things The Little Guy is Thankful for:

Daddy and Mommy
The Girls, especially Bella
Grandparents and Family
For Chickie the Elf (mommy too buddy)
For Santa giving lots of toys for Christmas
Watching Rescue Bots
Being able to make pictures for mommy and daddy
Buddies at school
Being able to sleep with his stuffed animals
His nice warm house

Week in Rewind: Nov 21

This time of year always seems to go quickly. Last weekend, we headed to the mall for a few things.  And it was busy. The little guy seemed to love the energy. He hopped from one store to another. And somehow ended up with a totally cool, Batman teddy. 

This week also saw the little guy earn a new belt in karate. We've come along way since he refused to do any drills. Now he's first in line. And who knew how flexible.  The boy's got game

We also found out that we have some pretty tough dogs. Mattie with an ear infection in both ears, wonderful. But poor Bella takes the cake. 9 teeth pulled and a very sore pup afterwards.  And Trojan, nothing really wrong except wants to eat everything in sight and is pretty emphatic about it....darn you holiday pounds. 

I'll end on a cute story. The little guy colored a big picture for daddy. After he finished, he came over to me and said "now mommy if you're on best behavior, I'll color one for you". 

Week in Rewind: Nov 19

Don't you love warm, fall days!  We've been lucky to have an amazingly beautiful couple of days. Warm sun, slight breeze, colorful scenery....but with a polar freeze upon us, these days are numbered. So with that in mind, we made the most of it. 

Miniature golf, yes please. 

Swinging like a monkey, yes please.  

Climbing a small mountain, yes please

Preparing the deck for winter, I guess, it has to be done...sigh

So, lately someone is totally into role playing. I mean, a boy can't take the swing apart without a hard hat. And he loves to be paw patrol or robo bots. In fact, he proudly announced that when he grows up, he wants to be Optimus Prime.  Now Mommy, in all her wisdom had no idea about this Optimus Prime person/thing...but from what I gather it's a big deal in the transformer world. Do you know how hard it is to walk out of Toys R Us with said Optimus...all with the little guy shopping for cousin and friend's birthday gifts. Luckily for me, the boy is easily distracted by ALL TOYS.  And trust me, he's pretty sure that he needs ALL TOYS. 

Which leads me to Christmas. Me thinks the day of saying just get him a car or firetruck are long gone....somehow, the boy has been totally commercialized and wants to make a detailed list for Santa. Darn you retail shopping and those mind numbing, addictive ads!  And don't get me started with Christmas decorations before Halloween, really??? Good Grief Charlie Brown. 

Finally, we celebrated a totally awesome Grandmom's birthday last weekend.  The little guy is really, really lucky to have such a wonderful person in his life. 

Week in Rewind: Nov 7

This week features a look back at items that didn't make the initial week's cut. 

First off, a trip to the dentist office. Mommy picked up her retainers after karate a few weeks ago....which meant a trip with the little guy.  Someone was a huge hit...they hadn't seen him since he first arrived.  That didn't stop him from showing his personality. "Mommy, open your mouth so I can see your teeth". Or, "what's this light for" as he swung it all around.  We'll see how good he is when it's his turn in the chair...

Soccer. Soccer. Soccer. Yes, we finally made it to the end and with little incidents.  Ok, a few but they were minor. The important point, the boy earned his certificate and may be ready for bigger boy soccer next year. Prayers Up!

Thank you to an awesome aunt and uncle for Mommy's  birthday gift. Someone found the Buckeyes..and is a big fan. He tore that wrapper off in record time. What you don't see, is the chocolate drool that soon followed.  Dentist anyone?

One thing that is really cool about the little guy getting older (besides his totally awesome stories) is the art work. He came home proudly emphasizing that he had a picture for me. Pretty good, no!  Now, I really hope that's not a self portrait because it does say mommy on it.  

Week in Rewind: October 31

Happy Halloween!  I'm Batman (cue raspy, dark voice). KaPoooow.....Ladies, are dreams have come true.. The little guy seriously wants to be Batman when he grows up.  Lofty goals indeed.  And when we introduced the Bat Mobile, let's just say we rocked his world

Meanwhile at the old homestead, we're loaded up with candy. Tonight is Trick Or Treat...and someone totally gets the treat aspect.  I, for one, am a little scared of candy overload. I mean, yesterday at karate was a group of ravished, candy addicted little ones all running around. And last night, the boy tossed and turned in anticipation.  This could get scary, literally.

Enjoy your Halloween everyone. And remember:

He did the mash.
He did the monster mash.
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash.
He did the mash
It caught on in a flash
He did the mash
The monster mash

To the Batcave, Robin...

Week in Rewind: Oct 23

This past weekend we went to a friend's birthday party. And someone had a blast.  Hayrides, a kid's size corn mase, and lots of straw throwing.  The boy seems to have some country in him. Did I mention the straw?  We're still digging out. 

Lately, the little guy has described some of his wild dreams. And they're really cute. The best so far revolves around him rescuing Teddy from a swarm of butterflies, inside a dark cave. Interesting, no. He always tells it with a flare for the dramatic. So, it's super duper cute. 

It's almost here ladies. Halloween. And a batman suit. Need I say more.